It’s Iola here. Welcome to our Australasian Christian Writers Tuesday Book Chat, where we encourage book lovers to answer our bookish question of the week.
Today we’re talking about edgy Christian fiction.
Do you read edgy Christian fiction? How do you define edgy? Who are your favourite edgy authors?
We look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please join in the conversation in a comment on this post or in a comment on the blog post shared in our Australasian Christian Writers Facebook Group. Or, if you’re feeling wordy (like me), write a blog post and link to it in the comments.
Let’s chat!
-
Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and author, writing contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. Iola lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty in New Zealand (not far from Hobbiton) with her husband, two teenagers and one cat.
View all posts
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related Posts
Published by Iola Goulton @iolagoulton
Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and author, writing contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. Iola lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty in New Zealand (not far from Hobbiton) with her husband, two teenagers and one cat.
View more posts
If edgy refers to the kind of fiction where the reader is on the edge of their seat and there’s no certainty of a happy-ever-after resolution then that’s me. The world where I minister is full of darkness, conflict, broken people in need of a saviour. I look for the same in my fiction. I wait for the writer to bring God into the story. I need His mercy and compassion to shine as a reminder that He has won the victory. I want to rejoice in the deliverance His representatives carry with them as they discover the truth.
Well said!
Our world is full of darkness, and we need fiction that offers hope to those living in the darkness.
I guess I would define edgy as that which takes me to the edge of my comfort zone, goes beyond being a “nice story” or even a “good story”, but challenges (or even confronts!!) my faith and the way I live my life with God and others. From that, I guess what challenges me might be different to what challenges others… And my answer would be: these are the fiction books I like best! – the ones that make me re-examine some of my tightly held beliefs or assumptions, or even those I didn’t know I had; the ones that encourage me to dive deeper into my relationship with God. Probably why I enjoy authors like Ted Dekker…
Stories that challenge the way we live – that’s a great definition 🙂 And I’m glad you like those books best.
It depends on your definition of edgy but I love it when Christian fiction dares to go beyond evangelical niceties and tackles deep issues. We are meant to be the light of the world so we need to shine the light of our words in dark places. One thing though, I need a positive ending. Not necessarily a happy, sugar-coated, everything-is-fine-forever kind of ending, but I need hope and a sense that my character has beaten at least some of their dragons (real or metaphorical).
I also want to see deep issues tackled in Christian fiction. If Christians don’t/won’t tackle the deep issues, then we can’t be surprised when people struggling in those areas turn away from Christianity.
I’m a definite fan of the happy-ever-after ending! But you’re right – that doesn’t need to be happy-puppies-and-unicorns. We just need hope.
To me I define edge as pushing the boundaries but not going over the edge. Sarah Sutton is good at this her books are a little meatier and for some would be to edgy but she has real stories and real feelings. I can think of one where there is a suspense in it but the Heroine was in being held and forced into the sex trade from a young age and while having been rescued still was dealing with what she had been taught to manipulate men. The book was still clean but it was more edgy.
Rose Dee writes slightly edgy books also and I like them. It really depends on the story. I don’t want a book that is not clean but I am happy with a little edgy (but still want close door scenes). (A couple I have read with a rape scene while not totally graphic have left little to the imagination and have made me feel sick reading it even if it was only just enough to know without doubt what was happening. When the author did the same in a second book I stopped reading her books).
Hi Jenny, Are you thinking of Michelle Sutton? Her series that was marketed as edgy when it was released a number of years ago. That series could potentially be defined as New Adult? Paula Vince has a couple of New Adult books that are edgy (this was mentioned in your interview with Paula at International Christian Fiction Writers blog a few weeks ago). I agree, Rose Dee’s books were edgy when they were traditionally published. The updated versions she indie published are less edgy and the older Amazon reviews are not an accurate reflection of the content in the updated versions.
woops Yes Michelle Sutton. The one I am thinking of was a stand alone book I think but I know she has several out. Oh didn’t know that about Rose’s books.
Pushing the boundaries but not going over the edge – I like that!
I have always found it puzzling that Christian fiction would allow a rape scene but not show sex within marriage. Yes, I see the author wanted to portray sin and the consequences of sin, but we don’t need those images in our minds.
I think Penny Jaye did a great job with this in Out of the Cages. It was obvious the main character had been forced into the sex trade, but the novel focused on the emotional side effects, like in the book you read. I think that’s a better way of covering it.
Hi Iola, The question of how to define ‘edgy’ is like asking how long is a piece of string, lol. I think the definition of edgy has also relaxed a little bit compared to a decade ago when it was a buzzword in Christian fiction circles. I’d define stories that push the outer limits of the Christian fiction genres as edgy. They’ll likely be niche books with lower sales than the books that sit in the sweet spot of the genre and fully meet reader expectations of the genre. Edgy books tend to attract 5 star and 1 star reviews in almost equally number because they’re pushing boundaries. Some readers will love seeing those boundaries challenged, and other readers will be offended by the content that’s not what they expect to find in a book labelled Christian fiction.
Hi Narelle, I am probably thinking of a decade ago. I think to me it was the subject and some issues covered that you don’t see in conservative books. Like as I mentioned a former victim of sex trafficking, or a heroine that has been caught up in the drug trade but has reformed, or even stories covering domestic violence and the fall out. While they are important subjects you don’t find them in say a love inspired book.
Rose I didn’t really think yours were too edgy just real but some called them edgy
Readers, writers, and publishers can’t even agree on what constitutes Christian fiction – we all have slightly different definitions. On that basis, our definitions of edgy are going to be equally varied (and vague).
Thank you for mentioning my work, Jenny and Narelle. To be honest, I never felt like my books were edgy when I was writing them. I just knew what I wanted to write and I know I didn’t take into account the ‘rules’ of Christian fiction. But I feel like these days, ‘edgy’ could be taken in many ways. My books don’t have that complete worldly feel because I love a happy ending and I don’t think it’s necessary to put in stark reality scenes but in the general market any mention of faith or Jesus is considered edgy, or at the very least, not common. So I guess it all comes down to an individual definition of what is ‘edgy’. I think that is why I refer to my books as redemptive. It’s a more specific and better understood explanatory word.
Redemptive – I like that 🙂